Case Number 21217

MUAY THAI GIANT (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

Opening Statement

On the cover art, you'll see "From the company behind the Ong Bak
franchise." Not sure if that's something you want to necessarily trumpet
these days.

Facts of the Case

For astute viewers of Thai action cinema, you may recognize the Muay Thai
Giant. He's Nathan Jones, the monster slab of beef who was beaten mercilessly by
Tony Jaa in The Protector. He takes on a significantly softer role here
as Barney, a gentle giant who's a bit slow on the uptake. After arriving in
Pataya, he's mugged and left penniless (and shirtless). There he meets two
sisters, one of whom is a junior champion boxer. When the girls run into some
trouble with local gangsters, they unlock Barney's massive fighting skills by
giving him a spicy Thai dish. When eaten, his vision blurs, his skin turns red,
and he beats up airplanes.

The Evidence

Yeah, I know. Weird.

Magnet Releasing -- Magnolia's studio arm responsible for importing foreign
action films -- tends to be one of my favorite labels. I'm a sucker for tracking
down the hidden gems of overseas mortal combat and Magnet is one of the few
distributors doing yeoman's work to get lesser known actioners into the hands of
North Americans. So it is with trepidation I ask for a bit more discernment in
what makes the cut.

Muay Thai Giant isn't a terrible movie, but it is disappointing. And
incoherent. And corny.

I'm unsure of what the target audience is supposed to be. Muay Thai
Giant has the feel, the slapstick, and non-existent body count of a kids
movie. However, it's also rated R, which doesn't compute. I ran into a similarly
confounding experience with Power Kids, another Magnet release marketed
towards a younger crowd, carrying an R rating, and a healthy dose of gun
violence.

Identity confusion aside, Muay Thai Giant just isn't badass enough to
recommend. If you're looking for some well-executed, entertaining action, you
will have very little to chew on. Nathan Jones is an impressive physical
specimen, but he doesn't possess the fighting skills to wow. He'll throw some
dudes and tear apart that plane, but other than brute force and some screaming,
the guy doesn't do anything noteworthy. Sasisa Jindamanee plays a young girl
with the boxing credentials and she's tasked with most of the on-screen action.
While she obviously knows what she's doing, it was a blow to the suspension of
disbelief watching an 80-pound female land ginger blows on fit, full-grown male
boxers, who then predictably crumple in a pile. The kids might like it, and I
have no doubt she could probably put me I the fetal position, but as spectacle,
it's a tough sell. The lone standout: Dan Chupong -- who may or may not be the
successor to Tony Jaa some day -- in a borderline cameo role, beating up some
stiffs in a storeroom.

If you dare tread here, Magnolia's Blu-ray treatment is solid as usual. The
1.78:1 1080p high-definition transfer is robust and colorful, nicely capturing
the goofiness of the affair. All of the action happens outside, in varied
locations, and the pinpoint video fidelity projects the details of the venues
with power. The eye candy is supplemented by a franticly aggressive 5.1 DTS-HD
Master Audio track (Thai and English). Extras: a pair of short behind-the-scenes
featurettes in standard-definition.